1919] KCONOMIC ZOOLOGY — ENTOMOLOGY. . 165 



parasites are known to attack any stage of this lepldopterous parasite of Ker- 

 mes. In a few cases this parasite is said to have been abundant enough to 

 materially reduce tlie coccid. 



Practical application of the methods recently discovered for the control of 

 the sprinkling sewage filter fly (Psychoda altemata), T. J. Headlee {Jour. 

 Econ. Ent., 12 {1919), No. 1, pp. 35-41, pis. 2, figs. 4).— A. description of the 

 application of the method recently described by the author and Beckwith 

 (E. S. R., 40, p. 356). 



The rose midg'e, E. R. Sasscek and A., D. Bokden {U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 778 

 {1919), pp. 8, fins. 2). — The location of an infestation by Dasyneura rhodophaga 

 of a rose house at Colgate, Md., in the fall of 1916, where it has caused an an- 

 nual loss of from $4,000 to $6,000, led to the investigations here reported, which 

 were conducted in cooperation with the Maryland Experiment Station. 



The eggs of this midge, which are deposited just under the sepals of the 

 flower buds or between the folded leaves of the leaf buds, hatch in 2 days and 

 the larvae immediately attack the buds, extracting the sap and eventually 

 causing the petals and leaves to dry up and die. They reach maturity in from 

 5 to 7 days, and then work their way out of the buds and fall on and enter 

 the ground, where they construct small silken cocoons in which to pupate. 

 The adults appear in from 5 to 7 days and shortly thereafter commence oviposi- 

 tion. Thus under greenhouse conditions the life cycle is passed in from 12 to 

 16 days. At Colgate the larvae were especially injurious from the latter part 

 uf May to early July and from early September to November 1. Roses, especi- 

 ally the hybrid teas, are apparently the only plants which it attacks. 



Experiments are reported in which a number of formulas were tested. The 

 results show that severe infestation c-an be controlled, if not entirely elimi- 

 nated, in a comparatively brief period by careful application of tobacco dust 

 on the soil and by the persistent nightly fumigation with tobacco, in the form 

 of stems, nicotin papers, or one of the volatile nicotin preparations. Where 

 earth walks are present it is advisable to spray the walks also with a 5 or 10 

 per cent kerosene emulsion. In the case of light infestations, the midge can 

 be controlled by systematic nightly fumigations with tobacco fumes, which 

 should be continued until all adults disappear, or by a careful application, at 

 the proper season, of tobacco dust. "The most opportune time to apply the 

 dust, if not accompanied with nightly fumigation, is during the latter part of 

 October or the first three weeks of November, at which season the last gener- 

 ation of larvae leaves the plants, enters the ground, and constructs overwinter- 

 ing cocoons. If dependence is placed on the dust alone, it is imperative that 

 the application be so timed as to be on the soil before the larvae seek winter 

 quarters." 



A list is given of 8 references to literature cited. 



Ground beetles attacking- crops in Mysore, L. O. Coleman and K. Ktjnhi- 

 KANNAN {Dept. Agr. Mysore, Ent. Scr. Bui. 5 {1918), pp. 16, pis. 2, figs. 2). — 

 Two ground beetles, namely, Gonocephalum hofmannseggi and G. depressum, 

 are common in Mysore. The larvae usually attack the roots of grass and the 

 adults feed on decaying vegetation, but both may attack a summer crop like 

 the potato. "The larvae become pests of ragi {Eleusine coracana) in regions 

 of deficient rainfall when the rains are delayed after sowing and the larvre 

 have not sufiicient moisture to pupate. Crops like the potato gi'own in sum- 

 mer are also Uable to attack, mainly by the adults which are attracted to it. 



" The life history usually takes a year, the larval life being confined to the 

 hot weather. The beetles emerging after the first heavy rains remain inactive 

 until December, following when they commence to breed. A second brood is 



